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Thomas Edison's Monetary Option

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 June 2009

David L. Hammes  and
Douglas T. Wills
David L. Hammes
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Hawaii at Hilo, 200 W. Kawili Street, Hilo, HI 96720-4091hammes@hawaii.edu
Douglas T. Wills
Affiliation:
Milgard School of Business, University of Washington Tacoma, 1900 Commerce St. CB 358420, Tacoma, WA 98402-3100dtwills@u.washington.edu
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Extract

In 1922, Thomas Edison publicly introduced his latest invention—a new type of money, a commodity-backed currency that he believed was the long-term solution to America's monetary woes. “I want to cast the variable out of money. This gold money is not good enough. It's a fiction” he boldly proclaimed (New York Times 1922).

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the History of Economic Thought , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , September 2006 , pp. 295 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © The History of Economics Society 2006

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References

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